Musical



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALOYS VHITE, OF NEWY HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT,

Specification of Letters Patent No. 28,224, dated May 8, 1860.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALors IVHITE, of the city and county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Musical Instrument; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a transverse vertical section of my instrument exhibiting` one playing key and its appendages. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section at right angles to Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

My invention consists in a musical instrument composed of a series of metal springs such as are used to produce the musical sounds in what are known as musical boxes attached to a sound board and a series of finger keys and suitable mechanism in connection therewith for playing upon the said springs.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A represents the framing or case of the instrument.

B is a flat sound board of wood extending the whole length of the instrument and having secured to it a wooden bridge a, to which the metal springs Z), are attached, the said springs being arranged side by side with their vibrating ends toward the rear of the instrument.

C, is the key which is supposed to be one of a series in a key board like that of a piano-forte, organ or melodion, arranged some distance below the sound board.

c, is the pin upon which the key works in the same manner as the key of a piano-forte or melodion.

In the rear portion of the lever there is a vertical slot CZ, through which passes the liy lever D, and the fly E. The fly lever D, is hinged at e, to the top of the key. The fly E, is attached to the fly lever D, near the bottom by means of a screw f, and adjusted relatively to the said lever by means of a regulating screw p, which screws through the said lever and presses thefly more or less away from the said lever. The lower part of the fly lever is turned back in a curved form as shown at ZL, under a stationary curved ledge g, which extends all along the case, and above the curved portion Zz., is a notch z'.

F, is what may be from its action termed a let off lever attached to the case by a hinge j, at its front end and having a slot Z in its rear part through which the lower part of the fly lever works.

g, is a spring attached to the frame and pressing on the top of the lever F, and holding it down on the top of the ledge g, when the key is at rest.

Zr: is a spring attached to the key behind the fly lever and pressing forward the upper part of said lever and throwing back the lower portion thereof. The rear end of this slot Z, in the lever F, constitutes a stop to the fiy lever and limits the action of the spring Ze, when the key is at rest.

G, is the damper attached at its rear end by a hinge m, to t-he back part of the case of the instrument and having a pad n, on its under side to press on the spring b.

H, is a screw screwed into the top of the fly-lever D, for the purpose of raising the damper from the spring Z), before the latter is touched by the fly in playing.

The depression of the front end of the key by a finger in playing is accompanied by the rise of its rear end with the attached fly lever and liy. As the fiy lever rises, its screw H, comes into operation under the damper and raises it from the spring and the fly is brought into contact with the said spring.

The fly lever in rising has its curved rear port-ion ZL, brought into contact with the ledge g, by which its lower part is caused to swing forward thus causing its upper part and the fly to swing backward and causing the latter to draw along the spring Z), toward the pointa vibrating rear end thereof. In the rise of the fly lever the lever F, is raised by the bottom of the notch e', coming in Contact with it, but when the fly lever has been raised to a certain point and the fly has been by the action of the part Zr, of the fly lever under the ledge g, brought very near to the point of the spring the corner 1, of the notch 2', is caused by the continued action of ZL, and g, to pass the bottom edge of the slot and by that means the upper end of the fly lever and fly are caused to swing back with increased velocity and the Hy caused to pass the end of the spring Z), very suddenly, and as 'the said spring has been strained upward, it, when thus liberated is caused to vibrate actively and produce the musical tone it represents in the scale, when the front end of the key is liberated from the finger the rear portion drops burying down with it the ily lever and ily and letting the damper Jfall on the spring b, t0 stop its vibration. In the descent of the fly lever, its upper part is held back to clear the spring b, by means of the lever F, which remains below the corner r, of the notch z', till it, in descending with the fly lever drops on to the ledge g, when the continu-ed descent of the fly lever carries the corner 1*, below the said lever F, and allows the rear portion of the fly lever to fall back and its upper part to swing forward to a position for operating on the spring b, when the key is again depressed.

of the damper in combination with the spring and the fly lever D, substantially as herein described.

ALOYS WHITE.

Witnesses:

A. M. KRAMER, B. N. HINDINGER. 

